1. Alphabet Sports

One of the first things you learn in school is the alphabet. And putting things in alphabetical order is a skill that will help you all through life. Turn to the sports section in the newspaper and find the standings of your favorite sports league. Put the names of the teams into alphabetical order. Then pick your favorite letter and find 10 words that begin with that letter. Put those words into alphabetical order, too. Write a sentence describing which was harder to do. Then write three complete sentences using words from your alphabetical list.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating and organizing it.

2. … 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Newspapers give you great ways to practice math. Search the news, sports and business sections of today's newspaper and find the following kinds of numbers: a 1-digit number; a 2-digit number; a 3-digit number; a 4-digit number; a 5-digit number. Practice your math by doing the following: Subtract the 2-digit number from the 3-digit number. Multiply the 1-digit number by the 2-digit number. Divide the 4-digit number by the 1-digit number. Add all the numbers together.

Common Core/National Standard: Representing and solving problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; applying understanding of number systems and relationships in solving problems.

3. Humming Along

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are migrating to North America weeks earlier than they used to, and researchers believe it’s because of higher temperatures in their winter habitats hundreds of miles south. The earlier arrival, scientists fear, could mean less food at nesting time for these tiny birds, which feed on nectar from flowers and small insects. The migration change is reported by a research team in a birding magazine called The Auk, which is produced by the American Ornithologists Union. The hummingbirds are popular with birdwatchers because they fly backward and come to home feeders, but they also play an important role pollinating flowers. As a class, talk about ways that changes in habitat or temperature can affect wildlife. Then find a wild animal in the newspaper and write how such changes could affect it.

Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.

4. The Sky Is Falling!

A fourth grade teacher is being hailed as a hero in the nation of Russia. Seeing a blinding flash, and having no idea what it was, Yulia Karbysheva ordered her 44 pupils to hide under their desks in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. As a result, none of the children was injured by flying window glass that was caused by the explosion of a giant meteor overhead. The teacher remained standing, however, and was one of 1,158 residents of the city who required medical care. The meteor, a 7,000-ton chunk of space rock, was hurtling across the skies over Siberia at 40,000 miles per hour when it exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Ural Mountains, spraying debris for miles around. Amazingly, although there were many injuries, no one died. In Chelyabinsk a factory wall collapsed, windows were broken in thousands of apartments and people were exposed to the bitter winter cold because of the explosion. As a class, talk about where meteors come from and what happens to them when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Draw a comic strip for the newspaper showing how people could stay safe from a meteor or other natural disaster.

Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points.

5. Sunken Sub Mystery Solved?

It was the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship, but, mysteriously, it quickly sank itself and never resurfaced. No one knew why the Confederate sub H.L. Hunley went under in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina after it had sunk the Union warship Housatonic during the U.S. Civil War in 1864. Now, researchers say they have a clue. They believe the sub was too close to the warship — less than 20 feet away —when the torpedo exploded. They believe the force of the blast would have been strong enough to knock the sub’s eight-man crew unconscious, and that they may have died before they could awake. The new theory was inspired by examination of the spar — the iron pole that held the torpedo. In the past, historians believed that the crew ran out of air before they could return to shore. As a class, talk about different inventions and weapons that have helped military forces engage with opponents. Then find one in the newspaper or online. Write a paragraph describing how this invention/weapon helps soldiers.

Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.